Empty

You are probably trying to decide whether or not to read the rest of this post right now. “Wow,” you’re thinking. The title seems pretty heavy. I don’t know if I have time for that. Well, let me just say that it’s not as bleak as it sounds.

We’ve been reading a book at church called The End of Me, by Kyle Idleman. It’s an excellent book. By the title, you can probably tell that it’s not a self-help book, at least not the regular self-help book that lines the virtual shelves on Amazon or the real shelves on whatever local book store or library that still has real books. As a matter of fact, the whole book is based on the idea that much of what Jesus taught was and is countercultural to what we try to do every day. You know…pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, stiff upper lip, lean into the plow, think positive thoughts. Those things are all great until you come up against something that is just too big for them to work. And you never know when that will be.

In Chapter 5, Kyle talks about how God loves to fill empty things. Empty jars, empty stomachs, empty hearts, empty lives. There are many examples of these things in the bible. And Kyle says something pretty simple, yet profound about this:

“The measure of filling we receive is in direct proportion to our level of emptiness.”

So, why is this? Why does God often wait until we have nothing to offer, until we are at our end before He moves? Wow…that’s a loaded question isn’t it? I’m sure scholars and philosophers have filled volumes on a question like that. Well, I’m neither of those and I’m not sure we’d ever fully figure out any of the “why does God do things” questions anyways. But, I think we can probably rest assured that the emptier we are, the less of us we can put into the solution, the more glory goes to Him. If I know that there is nothing I can do, then when God intervenes He gets ALL the credit.

One example that Kyle uses is the story of the widow in II Kings Chapter 4. You should read it for yourself…it’s a good story. The prophet Elisha visits her and she is in dire straits. She has absolutely nothing left except a flask of olive oil, a roof and four walls and her two sons. Elisha tells her to gather all the empty jars she can find; go get them from the neighbors. Get as many as you can, shut the door and keep filling them with your little flask. So, she does and that little flask of oil fills all the jars. The last drop fills the last one. God used empty jars to perform a miracle and filled and filled until they were completely full. No one else could get the glory because what happened was not possible. Only God could get the glory for what we know can’t be done.

I noticed something else in that story, however. Something I had never noticed before, but which Kyle pointed out in his book. It’s just one sentence in the story. The widow had nothing left but the flask of oil, the house and the sons. She had sold everything else to pay off her debts. It made me think about how I operate when I’m in a tough circumstance. I will do anything and everything I can to resolve the situation BEFORE I ask God for help. Sell everything in the house. Fret. Worry. Get to where the situation seems impossible, then I ask Him for help. I have a feeling that’s what most of you do too. Now that’s a “why” question we can probably find an answer to: pride, lack of faith, not wanting to “bother” God with our pesky little problems, a short memory for the ways God has moved in our lives before, all of these and probably more. The bottom line is that God usually does His biggest work when we need it most.

Does that mean He always does what we want? No. He didn’t heal my wife. He could have done that, but He didn’t. Why? I don’t know. But He doesn’t make mistakes.

In I Corinthians, chapter 2 verses 1-5 (NKJV), Paul writes to the church:

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the [a]testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of [b]human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Paul, the apostle…

…personally selected by Jesus Christ Himself to preach the gospel.

His testimony was that he was with the Corinthians “in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.” He was an empty vessel, emptied of all of his training and knowledge as a Pharisee and a scholar and completely surrendered to the Spirit of God. He knew that the task set before him was impossible by his own strength and learning and abilities. He also knew that people didn’t need another philosopher or wise man proclaiming pithy pronouncements. He knew that people need the saving power of forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. An empty vessel, filled to overflowing with the compassion and love of the living God.

Maybe you have a degree, or two or three. Maybe you have a career full of success to look back on. Maybe you are a great business person. In God’s economy, those things are meaningless without first emptying yourself and recognizing that you can’t do the most important thing of all…save yourself from yourself!

You hear people say this all the time, “Nobody’s perfect!” And that is true. It’s biblical, actually. It’s one of the things our society has embraced because there’s no way around it. That imperfection is what separates us from God. But God…He supplied the way to bridge the gap through Jesus.

Recognizing our need for salvation and embracing Christ’s solution for that need and turning to Him is just the beginning though. He wants us to follow Him, every day. The ironic thing is that we really can’t even do that. Not on our own strength. So, we have to humble ourselves and recognize that we not only can’t save ourselves but we also can’t even properly follow the One who saves us. And…that’s precisely where God wants us and meets us. Empty vessels. He fills them. He uses them for His purpose and His glory and we get the privilege of being a participant in the greatest of stories.

Are you empty?

Maybe that’s right where God wants you to be so He can do His greatest work in you.